Original subtitles

There is one special place where I worked as a young chef that

has remained close to my heart...

Didn't think I'd come to France and find a Barnsley chop.

..and one region in particular that is full of passionate producers

and incredible ingredients.

This is Provence!

We are going to be discovering the secrets of the very best

and simplest French cooking.

That is a discovery.

SHE LAUGHS

Nice and easy, simple dinner for one.

I'll be sharing tips, tricks and techniques...

We've got flavours of Provence.

There's sunshine for you!

..and enjoying a bit of friendly rivalry along the way.

That was close! I'm a little nervous.

I knew I wouldn't be able to fool them.

LAUGHTER

All in the name of bringing you a simple taste of Provence.

In Provence, the markets and shops are awash with an extraordinary

array of fresh fruit,

all locally produced, and it's got me thinking.

Back home, we love our fruit-based classics

like strawberries and cream or apple crumble.

And I want to discover if it's the same here in France.

Do they have a passion for retro recipes?

And what simple fruity French dishes could rival our

traditional British favourites?

There was one fruit that when I was growing up

always felt like a luxury item

and you only ever really saw it on restaurant menus.

But, in Provence, it's everywhere

and it's making me feel all nostalgic.

Cantaloupe melons!

Look at this.

Wow!

I always used to remember going and buying these with my dad

at the marketplace but...

MARCUS SNIFFS

..it's the smell that gets me every time.

Great memories.

Now, hands up if you remember the simplest of starters -

melon wrapped in Parma ham?

I know I do, but what do the French do with their melons?

I'm vising a family-run farm within the spectacular

landscape of the Luberon to find out.

They grow a variety here that's recognised as the most

popular in France, the melon de Cavaillon.

The hot climate here means they benefit from long growing

seasons from May to September, and I'm joining Sacha...

Monsieur, bonjour.

..right at the end of harvest.

Sacha? Hey, yeah. How are you?

Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, too.

Enchante. Wow!

Stop! She's going to run me over.

Is the melon one of the most popular fruit in Provence, in France,

in the south of France?

Yeah. In Great Britain, we have it in the supermarkets... Yeah.

..but it's not the common fruit.

I think the melon in France is the first.

First? Yeah. Is it? Yeah. Oh, wow.

Yeah. Because all the grapes are made into wine? Yeah!

That's why. That's why!

As we can see, this one... Wow! ..is the Charentais jaune.

You have the Charentais vert and Charentais jaune.

Vert is green, jaune is yellow. Yeah.

This is the yellow? Yeah.

How do you know when this is ready?

When you are in the supermarket if you see the...

..this side cracking? Oh, yeah.

And the yellow skin and the smell,

it's 100% sure it's a good melon. It's good to go. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

So, the all-important question...

How do you eat it? Do you just eat it?

Just straight. Just straight? Yeah.

Like right now.

Of course, I should have known,

here in Provence simple is king.

Sacha's team are back from their break

and I seem to have joined them for a shift.

So let's go.

You need to...to keep your eyes in all this line.

OK. And when the yellow come to you, this is...

It's the one? Yeah, this is the one.

A yellow melon means they're ripe for the picking.

And to celebrate this produce in its simplest form,

each melon has to be perfect.

Yeah, like this. And it's soft. Beautiful. And like this.

Much like pumpkins, they grow on low-lying vines...

OK.

..and Sacha and his team harvest each and every one by hand,

to prevent damaging the fruit.

It's actually quite nice to feel like part of the team.

Yeah!

It's hard work, but I'm getting off lightly.

Is this the second time you've been round to collect?

So six. Six times? Yeah.

Yeah, six or seven.

So this must be full? Yeah.

Wow! Like you can... You can have your bucket,

just put your bucket here and just fill it, the bucket, just...

In that space? Yeah.

Ah, it's like gold! Yeah. Fields of gold!

The colour is gold, yeah.

Who is the...? Who's the...? My girlfriend.

I'm working with my father, my mother, my girlfriend,

every my family.

I used to go to a market with my father... Yeah.

..and it was in Liverpool, in the north west. Yeah.

And we used to pick up boxes of melons and they were so, so special.

I can understand that.

I could do this all day.

I have no problem. Everyone say that the first time.

MARCUS LAUGHS

How many hours in the field, do you? Ten. Ten?

Yeah, around ten. Ten days? It depend of the day, but around ten.

We're almost coming to the end of the row now. Yeah.

And I know it's only one row, but can I try some?

Yeah, but you will regret that. Why?

Because when you came back in England...

It's not the same. Yeah. I know. I know, I know, I know!

Melon may never taste the same again,

but it's a risk I'm willing to take.

Thank you.

Like a big smile!

SHE LAUGHS

It's growing under the sun, it lives under the sun...

Mm-hm. ..you eat it under the sun. Yeah.

This has never been in a fridge.

In middle of Provence.

Yeah, in the middle of Provence so the flavour's never been suppressed.

Incredible.

I wonder if Sacha's girlfriend, Myrtille,

shares his views on how it should be eaten.

What's the best way you enjoy eating the melon?

Yeah. Just a slice of melon. Like this.

Any time of the day. Any time.

It's official -

they both like to keep it simple.

So, they might be in for a shock with what I have planned next.

To say thank you for having me, I've arranged to make Sacha

and Myrtille a classic retro dish from home.

You may not agree with what I'm about to do,

but I've got a British classic that I think will absolutely

knock your socks off and something I'd like you to try.

Just bear with me, OK? OK. OK.

When I came to Provence, I'd never have imagined I'd be creating

a retro dish from the '70s for a load of French farmers!

Well, here goes nothing!

When I was training to be a chef, this was posh.

OK. So this, this was a very, very special way of cutting melon.

But the dish I'm going to do for you is a classic

in all hotels,

quite a lot of restaurants and lots and lots of pubs.

A little bit scared of the tomato ketchup!

What? This one?

Ta-da! There we go.

Nice.

What I'm doing is what we call a great British prawn cocktail.

Prawn cocktail, with a Marie Rose sauce,

and melon - your melon!

Lettuce in there.

He's not... You're not with me, are you?

Really scared.

Not quite the reaction I was hoping for!

I don't know what's scaring me more, you trying my food...

THUNDER RUMBLES ..or that thunderstorm behind me!

Bit of mayonnaise.

I can already see I'm losing my audience...

LAUGHTER

Why are you laughing?

It's French mayonnaise!

Ketchup.

..but there's no turning back now.

Is that the sauce for the melon?

No, no, it's for the prawns.

And where are the prawns are going? On there.

THEY LAUGH

What are they doing?

Little bit of pepper.

Et voila. Wow!

Prawn cocktail a l'anglais!

You're not impressed, is he?

THUNDER CRACKS He's so not impressed with me.

I'm worried. Look, you can hear the cracking of the thunder,

you can hear that, that's his thoughts.

Right, come on. Taste test.

It's not as simple as they'd like their melon, but it's not far off.

An easy prawn cocktail.

Come on! Surely this going to be a taste sensation.

Guys?

I will never think about making this... Yeah.

..but the combination is nice.

For me, for sure, I prefer the...

..the two things separate.

That's not the point! Yeah. Sorry.

Tough, tough audience, I've got to say, it's a tough audience.

They may not have liked my British classic,

but I'm hopeful I can convince some of the others.

I'm not looking forward to this!

They're not looking very sure about what I'm doing.

OK, you ready, to taste? Oui. Oui. For you guys.

THUNDER CRACKS

It's thundering again - that's a bad sign!

Good? Yeah.

I'm nervous.

Time to employ the famous Wareing charm.

Now I've got to give them a hug to win them over.

I'm doing everything in my power

so that, hopefully, they give me the thumbs up.

Here we go. Good or bad? Up or down?

C'est bon. Good. Good.

LAUGHTER

This one's not moving.

I've got three out of five.

I want to go home!

In hindsight, it might have been

a bold move going full retro with my melon prawn cocktail.

I guess you can't win them all.

I'm hoping I can make it up to Sacha and Myrtille

with dinner back at mine in Saint Remy.

My mission to find simple Provencal recipes to rival our favourite

fruity dishes from back home is not as easy as I thought.

But I'm hoping my luck is about to change.

I'm off to the foot of Les Alpilles Natural Park

and Hotel Hameau Des Baux, to meet head chef Julie Chaix.

Trained under Alain Ducasse, Julie creates simple dishes inspired by

childhood memories and her Provencal roots.

Which means she knows a thing or two about classic French cuisine

and it seems she's already got the measure of me,

because she's challenged me to a cook-off,

pitting a traditional English pud against a classic French dessert.

Bring it on!

Bonjour! Bonjour! Hi, chef. Julie? Yes.

Marcus. Nice to meet you. Enchante, enchante.

Oh, look, we're ready.

Yeah. Apples. Apples.

What are you making? I make a clafoutis.

Clafoutis? Traditional clafoutis.

I love a clafoutis. You like it? Oh, I do!

This is my grandma recipe. Really?

And it's something very special for me, because it was good memories.

Clafoutis is a super simple dessert

of cooked fruit covered in batter and baked in the oven.

But can it beat my ultimate

and unbelievably easy British classic?

I'm making crumble. OK.

I very much doubt it!

Traditional English. Yeah. Traditional anglais.

This you will like.

Shall we get cooking, shall we get preparing?

We're both using apples,

so it's an even playing field as far as the fruit is concerned.

And I'm confident the good old crumble can come out on top.

I wonder if Julie shares Sacha and Myrtille's opinion of our cuisine.

Julie, what's your view of British puddings?

I didn't like sugar and I think you... Oh, yeah?

Yeah, I didn't like too much.

And I think it was a little bit sugar for me.

Too sweet? That's my taste. OK.

That's really not what I wanted to hear.

We both start by frying off our apples in butter.

But, for her clafoutis, it looks as though Julie's already

employing some tricks of the trade.

You've put some butter in your dish and you've lined that with sugar,

that's like you do with a souffle?

Yeah, of course, I put some sugar and... Butter? ..butter.

Like that, they make a crust. OK.

And when it was cooked and we serve very hot,

this crust was the best.

I don't know about the best, but it certainly does sound good.

For her clafoutis batter, to flour Julie adds eggs, sugar,

vanilla pods and almond powder.

Is the almond an optional, or is it normal?

No, it's optional.

I think it was better, because it makes them crunchy

when you're eating and the flour it was not the same.

Mm. Yeah.

You just get a little taste of the almond. Nice.

Yeah, of course. Nice.

You have now, but after, when you eat, after it was cooking,

we have a lot, the flavour will bring me all the mouth.

Julie is pulling out all the stops,

but, while she's letting her apples stay firm,

I'm breaking mine down to give the perfect texture to my fruit.

So for me, the apple,

I'm going to cook those down so that they start to become stew.

The apple, it was not too much cooking?

More, needs cooking more. More? Yeah.

And after in the oven? Almost like a puree. OK.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was, I think it was delicious.

But Julie's going one better - with cognac.

And that's it.

The French love a flambe! Yes, of course!

They love theatre, they love a flambe.

We, we use some wood so why not use a flambe?

Not to be outdone...

Now you've flambeed yours, I think I need to flambe mine, too.

Probably not too hot now. No.

That's the joy of cooking outside. Yeah.

But mine's not going to plan.

Ooh.

Mm, it's not enough hot, think so.

Mm? Mm!

Not quite the theatre I was hoping for.

Do you ever get the feeling you've been sabotaged?

I've lost the heat of my pan and there's no fire.

You had all the theatre. Yours, it was very more than mine.

I know, you had all the theatre, I lost the flame.

It takes more than a bit of French gamesmanship

to knock me off my perch.

I'm cracking on with my crumble.

Everybody in the UK knows how to make this.

This creates this crust when you have the on the top? Yeah.

Soft underneath and then crunchy on top. Mm-hm.

This definitely wins the simple stakes.

That's the beauty of a crumble -

a handful of ingredients,

easy technique

and a total crowd pleaser.

It's going to take some beating!

Everybody loves it, it's affordable,

you can use just simple apples,

you don't need expensive fruit.

I made this the first time was at school

in my Home Economics class,

because it was just all about getting your hands in.

Just great fun.

Would you like some vanilla? Yeah.

I just need some seeds. Why not?

I think Julie might be feeling guilty about the flambe.

Oh, a little bit of French love there.

There we go.

With both dishes nearly ready,

all that's left to do is add the batter and my crumble...

This just goes on top.

Right, we are good to go.

..and put them in the oven.

Right, I'm done. Yeah? You ready? Yes, of course.

So lead the way, show me where the kitchen is.

After 30 minutes, the classic French clafoutis

and traditional British crumble are ready.

Smells good. Yeah.

It looks like good.

Are you happy? Yeah. I'm happy.

Now the moment of truth.

First up, the clafoutis.

Has Julie delivered a fruity French classic

to rival my crumble?

Mm.

The almond... Yeah.

It's a nice touch.

And the apple with the cognac, really, really good.

It's interesting, cos that's the first time,

I think, I've had this with almonds.

OK. And I like it, I think it's really good.

That's different. Mm.

Now it's my turn.

Right, crumble time.

Yes.

This is very simple.

Big test, so I've brought a little bit of cream.

Normally some ice cream or some custard.

Try that, there we go. Thank you.

So this is a really big moment for British puddings.

SHE LAUGHS

Verdict?

It was...

The crumble like crusty and sweety, it was very delicious.

I really like it.

Success! I was worried for a moment there.

When you put a touch of cream with it, this is home comfort food.

Yeah, of course.

I don't think either of these are a winner in some sense. No, no.

I think they're both perfect and both delicious

and, actually, full of memory.

So thank you... Please!

..to discover me this beautiful recipe. I love it.

Have I persuaded Julie to take on this British classic?

La crumble.

Avec le custard!

You never know!

The classic crumble may have helped me

redeem myself and the reputation of British cookery,

but the prawn cocktail fail is still playing on my mind.

So I've invited Sacha and Myrtille round for dinner

with the aim of pairing melon with something that meets their approval.

Now call me a glutton for punishment,

but I've thought of another British retro dish I want to try -

melon and Parma ham.

So I've arranged to meet up with restaurateur and friend Jerome,

who's kindly organised a charcuterie tasting

to see if any of the local meats can bring my idea to life.

It turns out the best place to eat cured meats around here

is in a cellar - who knew?

Grapes, of course. Wow, what a beautiful room.

Yes, it's nice, isn't it, yeah?

Be careful where you walk in here. Yes!

You don't have to be too small... too tall, yeah?

I'm going to sit down!

And of course, whenever I'm with Jerome, there's always some food.

Food on the table, always.

French people, they love that kind of stuff,

when you mix vegetables and charcuterie

and a bit of cheese and obviously bread. Yeah.

Before we begin, I want to know if Jerome thinks

I'm on the right track with my dish for Sacha and Myrtille.

I've got to ask you this, Jerome,

because you're a very well-known man in the village, in the town,

your reputation goes far and wide.

Tell me, what's your opinion on Parma ham and melon?

I love that! Oh, gosh! Yeah.

I'm sorry, I'm French. The classic! Yes, it's really classic.

It's not really trendy any more... No.

..but it used to be everywhere, on every menu and restaurant. OK.

This is something my mother cooked at home. Really?

So, yes, on Sunday,

you had the kind of melon and Parma ham or prosciutto.

So it's not just a British thing.

It turns out we do share a love for one retro dish

with our friends across the pond.

Shame the same can't be said of the prawn cocktail.

I went to a melon farm... OK.

..and the producers,

I served them a classic melon dish from back home.

And then scoop out the seeds and I put a prawn cocktail... Prawns?

So prawns... OK!

..cocktail sauce, a little bit of lettuce,

and, voila, I served it. OK.

Did they like it? They weren't happy. OK...

Seafood and melon, it's not so common, yeah?

But it's not, but then... Yeah.

..also Parma ham and melon. Yeah, yes.

I'll just gave to let it go.

Moving on!

And you've got mortadelle, so this is typically French as well.

I see this all over France, everywhere I go

and I have to say, this does not appeal to me.

Really? Yeah, because there's an element of it that looks processed,

and I see ham like this back home.

You can see it's not processed because of the quality.

You can see the peppers, very good quality.

Very soft. Very soft, yeah, yeah.

It's like butter, it just melts.

It's very good. Yeah, it is. It's really good.

Very, very tasty. This is something you like as a kid

and as a grown-up, you like it as well.

It's OK, but I've spotted one thing I like the look of.

And so this one? Ah, saucisson.

Saucisson.

It doesn't get more French than that!

So this one is really local

and is really soft.

So you can get different qualities of saucisson.

Usually, when you've got that kind of platter,

you don't want something really dried, you know,

because it's much more difficult to eat,

and here it's really simple.

Feels like butter as well. Mm.

Big flavour. Yeah. Really interesting, yeah?

Very big flavour.

I've found a winner!

I think if the Parma ham works, then I know the saucisson will work,

and I think they'll be very happy with that.

And of course a bit of bread. Yes.

That's not a problem. No, it's not a problem at all.

That's what I'm going to do. OK.

Right - decision made.

Now I've definitely learnt my lesson about messing with melon,

so I'm keeping it really simple

for my dinner with Sacha and Myrtille tonight.

An easy to put together but impressive looking retro buffet...

..of melon, of course,

charcuterie, baked goat cheese

and a super-speedy mackerel pate.

I've got a fresh mackerel, and I want to serve it fresh,

so I'm just going to show you a process

that's nice and simple and easy,

and it's very, very cost-effective.

Most pates are made in advance

and need to be set in the fridge over a couple of days,

but I want to show you a delicious cheat's pate,

using fresh fish, that's ready to go as soon as it's made.

I'm just going to cut

just underneath the little fin there.

Bought whole, mackerel is one of the cheapest fish you can buy

and filleting it yourself is easy when you know how.

Slice down the back, like so.

What I love about mackerel is it's so soft.

It just comes off, simple as that.

And I just tend to just nick the head off,

just go underneath the bone,

run your knife nice and close.

Simple.

There's your filleted mackerel.

Easy.

Get a drizzle of olive oil onto a tray

and lay the fillets skin side down

to protect the fish and prevent any sticking.

Then season with salt, pepper,

fresh rosemary and thyme.

I remember going mackerel fishing off the Kentish coast

and the most sustainable way of catching mackerel is line caught.

I think I remember filleting it on the boat.

A bit of salt, phwoar, straight out the water?

Absolutely fantastic.

Lemon zest on top.

Mackerel fillets prepped,

it's time for the goat's cheese.

And very, very simple,

baked goat's cheese is absolutely sensational,

but when you add some other ingredients to it,

it really, really does come to life.

I'm using cherry tomatoes.

Just chop them in half.

And as the cheese sort of starts to soften,

the tomatoes start to break down

and all the lovely juices just come oozing out.

And scatter them around the goat's cheese before adding -

brace yourselves - a sprinkling of lavender.

The lavender is quite an unusual herb

to put with this dish, but it does work.

Again, it's one of my favourite herbs.

Some thyme,

and, last but not least,

a drizzle of honey.

So it's a lovely marriage of flavoursome ingredients

working together once it starts to bake.

Cheese and mackerel ready to go.

They're covered in foil and placed on the barbecue.

You can hear that going?

Oh, that's quick.

In fact, I can see...

I can hear that sizzling away!

Literally that is less than a minute and that's good to go.

Now I have to remember to rein myself in.

I've got my beautiful melon here.

And very, very simple, we're just going to be doing melon wedges.

I've learnt my lesson.

Don't mess with the melon.

Just cut it up, serve it up.

But there's an age-old classic out there that we all know

and are familiar with, and that's melon and Parma ham.

So that's why I've got a little bit of local ham here

that I'm going to put on the board with my melon.

You could say they're like old friends,

they've had a little bit of a barney,

we're just going to keep them separate on the board,

rather than putting them together.

Old friends meet again.

Melon wedges, look at that!

Once the bread's cut...

You can dip that into my mackerel pate.

..it's just a case of adding the charcuterie...

I've got some local cured meat so I'm going to put that over here.

There we go.

..before moving on to the pate.

And now my mackerel,

which we are going to just take off the skin,

into my bowl.

Yeah.

Oh, wow. Mm.

Three quarters of the mackerel are flaked,

before adding creme fraiche, horseradish and rosemary.

So I'm just mashing up my little mackerel pate,

and now what I'm going to do is just going to break

the last few pieces of the mackerel up

and then just fold it in,

so you've got the soft, sort of crushed-up mackerel

and then you've got little chunks just folded into it.

There we go.

Now, I know what you're thinking.

"Melon and seafood? Again?"

But it's OK -

I'm keeping them separate.

It looks like a little pate dish, I thought I'd just serve it in here.

One last grating of the lemon zest.

All I've got to do now is just bring over my goat's cheese and tomato,

and I think we're good to go.

Oh! There we have that, look at that.

Wow, that smells incredible.

That is a feast and a half.

Melon and charcuterie board

with fresh mackerel pate

and baked goat's cheese.

A simple taste of Provence

that lets the beautiful Cavaillon melon

speak for itself.

There we have it - a buffet fit for friends.

I can't wait to see what Sacha and Myrtille think of it.

The moment has finally arrived, a chance to redeem myself

and show Sacha and Myrtille

my simple, fresh new take on a retro melon dish

that will hopefully impress

just a tad more than the prawn cocktail did.

Hello! Hey, Marcus! Hey! How are you?

Nice to see you. Come in, come in, come in. Nice to see you.

Nice to see you. Come and sit down, sit down. Yes.

We don't normally shake hands in France, do we?

Hey. We kiss!

And it looks like I'm off to a good start.

Well, I'm happy because I can see there is like... Yeah!

..a normal slice of melon with nothing on it.

I took your advice!

I asked you one question, "What's the best way to eat the melon?"

and you just said, "Like this!" Like this, yeah.

With no ketchup around, so that is good!

No, Sacha - no ketchup here.

I definitely learned my lesson with that one!

So what I've made

is this beautiful, like,

pate with mackerel... OK.

..and creme fraiche and a touch of horseradish.

I've put off the moment for long enough.

Why don't we just tuck in, guys?

Just have some melon, bread, salami.

I'll let you tuck in.

The mackerel is so good. Mm!

Result!

Yeah, the cheese too. Mm. It's amazing.

And I do think the mackerel does work a little bit

with the sweetness. Perfect!

Thank goodness for that!

I wanted to see if there was a passion in Provence

for retro recipes and simple, delicious fruit dishes.

Well, it's certainly a yes to the latter,

but the prawn cocktail

will definitely be coming back home with me.

Cheers! Cheers!

Here's to the melon!

Sante. Sante. Sante.

If there's one lesson I have learnt about the melon,

and that is to keep it simple.

Keep it natural, don't mess with it.

Just serve it as it is.